Chairperson
Double bassist Bruce Ridge has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1987. He began his professional career when he joined the Virginia Symphony at the age of 15. Ridge later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with Distinction in Performance honors. He has performed at Tanglewood, Interlochen, the Grand Teton Festival, and with the orchestras of Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, and Honolulu.
Ridge's double bass teachers include Lawrence Wolfe of the Boston Symphony, and the late Roger Scott of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also performs on the bass guitar and solo jazz bass for the North Carolina Symphony’s Pops series. Send Bruce an email. top
President
Brian Rood joined the Kansas City Symphony in 1995 and is a member of the Kansas City Brass. Previously he served as principal trumpeter with the Michigan Opera Theater and Flint (MI) Symphony Orchestras. As a member of the Galliard Brass Ensemble he recorded extensively on the Musical Heritage Society Label.
Mr. Rood’s solo recording of the Concertos of Fasch, Hadyn and Telemann for Music Minus One is one of their best sellers. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Brian studied with Armando Ghitalla, Donald Green, and Ramon Parcells. Brian attended the Tanglewood Music Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.
Mr. Rood is the Chairman of the Kansas City Symphony Musicians’ Association, Musicians’ Committee and Negotiation Committee. Brian also serves as a Trustee of the American Federation of Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra and Opera Strike Fund. Mr. Rood served as the President of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) from 2002-2005 and was elected again in 2006. He served as the Kansas City Symphony’s ICSOM Delegate from 1998-2003.
Mr. Rood joined the American Federation of Musicians at the age of 20 upon winning an audition for the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Two year later he served as the Union Representative and then became the Orchestra Committee’s Chairman the following year. top
Secretary
Laura Ross, who was elected as ICSOM Secretary in 2002, is the first officer to be elected to the same position in two Player Conferences having served as ROPA Secretary from 1994-2000.
Laura has been a member of the violin section of the Nashville Symphony since 1984 and has served as the Nashville Symphony Union Steward since 1995. Laura previously served as ROPA Member-At-Large from 1991-94, was Chair of the ROPA Electronic Media Committee from 1989-2000, joined the Electronic Media Committee representing ROPA and ICSOM in 1998, and is currently a member of the ICSOM Electronic Media Committee.
In 2000 Laura was elected to the Executive Board of the Nashville Association of Musicians, Local 257 and as Local 257's AFM Convention Delegate. She has served on the 2001, 2003 and 2005 AFM Convention Measures and Benefits Committee, serving twice as secretary of that committee. Laura has previously served as a member of the AFM Public Relations Task Force and the AFM Restructure Committee. top
Treasurer
Michael Moore, tubist with the Atlanta Symphony for 39 years, has been ASO ICSOM delegate for the past 25 years, and in 1986 was the host delegate for the annual ICSOM conference. He has served in every capacity except secretary on his orchestra committee, and is currently treasurer, as well as a member of numerous subcommittees and
taskforces. He has been on the ASO negotiating committee for the past 7 contracts, including two strikes and a lockout. He has served on the executive board of Local148-462 for the past 25 years. He is also founder of the Atlanta Brass Society, Inc. and Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet. He spends part of each summer soloing and conducting in Calabria, Italy. He has served nine years as an ICSOM member at large before becoming ICSOM Treasurer in 2002. top
Editor Senza Sordino
Richard Levine started his union career as a member of Local 47 (Los Angeles) at age 19. While in Los Angeles, he performed with many orchestras, including the Pasadena, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, CODA, and San Fernando Valley Symphonies. After winning a position with the San Diego Symphony in 1973, he soon became involved with orchestra committee work in that long-troubled orchestra. He participated in many negotiating committees for both the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera Orchestras. He was also instrumental helping bring the Symphony out of bankruptcy. He has served ICSOM in various capacities, including delegate, member-at-large, and editor of Senza Sordino. top
Member-at-Large
Paul Gunther, Minnesota Orchestra Principal Librarian, trained as a percussionist. He started at the Minnesota Orchestra Library in 1975, learning his profession from a couple of hundred orchestra musicians who have been his colleagues over the years.
He was a founding member in 1983 of MOLA (Major Orchestra Librarians Association). He served as MOLA’s first newsletter editor and later for six years on the MOLA Board of Officers, including two terms as president. In the Minnesota Orchestra he has served several terms on the Members Committee, including as Co-Chair, and twice on the musicians’ Contract Negotiation Committee.top
Member-at-Large
Matthew
Comerford (Trumpet) has been a member of the orchestra of the
Lyric Opera of Chicago since 1997, and attained the position of
Co-Assistant Principal Trumpet in 2000. Previous to Lyric, Matt performed as
a substitute member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's trumpet section. He
toured with the CSO extensively and can be heard on over 40 CD’s with the CSO including several of their Grammy Award winning recordings. In the fall of 1997, he founded Tower Brass of Chicago, the resident professional brass ensemble at Fourth Presbyterian Church and serves as Musical Director. Tower Brass enjoys a rich performance life in the Chicago area and has recorded two CDs, “A
Christmas Celebration” and “Urban Litany”.
Matt is the ICSOM Delegate from the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago being elected to the position each year since September of 2003. He currently serves on the Lyric Orchestra Electronic Media Committee. From the fall of 2001 until September of 2007, he served on the Orchestra and Negotiating Committees of the Lyric Orchestra. Outside of the Opera, he is a member of the ICSOM Media Committee and is pleased to have the opportunity to serve on the Governing Board in the position of Member-at-Large. top
Member-at-Large
Catherine
Payne joined the San Francisco Symphony as solo piccoloist in 1996. Before joining
the SFS, Cathy was an active freelance musician in Boston, performing with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra as acting second flutist for two seasons. A native
of Hartford, Connecticut, Cathy is a graduate of Tufts University and the New
England Conservatory of Music, where she was a student of Lois Schaefer and
Leone Buyse of the Boston Symphony.
Cathy currently serves on the SFS Orchestra Committee as well as the Media Committee. She has been the orchestra’s ICSOM Delegate since 1998, and is a member of the ICSOM Media Committee.top
Member-at-Large
Violist Meredith Snow, a native of Long Island, New York, received her Bachelor and Masters degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, where she was a student of Paul Doktor and Samuel Rhodes. She became a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1986 after three years with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. She has served on endless committees for the Philharmonic, is currently on the LIOC, and has been ICSOM delegate since 2001. She enjoys reading, making stained glass, bicycling, and chamber music, appearing often with the Philharmonic Chamber Music Society and the Philharmonic New Music Group. top
Legal Counsel
Leonard Leibowitz has been practicing law for 40 years. He has been affiliated with ICSOM since 1971 and currently serves as ICSOM Legal Counsel. Additionally, Mr. Leibowitz serves as counsel to AFM Symphonic Services Division, to Local 802 (New York), and to numerous orchestras around the country. He has earned a well-deserved reputation of expertise and excellence in his representation of trade unions in general and especially for his work on behalf of musicians throughout the U.S. and Canada. top